Terms of the deal were not disclosed. DynamicOps provides software for running virtualized workloads across different cloud platforms. DynamicOps' software is designed to allow users to provision and manage virtualized workloads across multiple platforms. It can work with not only VMware's software but with competing technologies, such as Microsoft's Hyper-V and the open-source Xen hypervisors, as well as with Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (ECC).

Software that can run workloads across different cloud architectures has been of increasing interest to the IT vendor community of late.

VMware will still emphasize the use of its own software -- namely VMware vSphere and VMware vCloud Director -- for managing public and private clouds, but also wants to offer its customers tools for working with multiple cloud architectures, according to VMware Vice President Ramin Sayar, explaining the sale in a blog post. Working closely with VMware's vCloud Director, DynamicOps' Operations Virtualization offers a set of policy-based automation and management capabilities.

Software that can run workloads across different cloud architectures has been of increasing interest to the IT vendor community of late. Last month, Red Hat launched CloudForms, which also allows users to migrate workloads across different architectures. The Google-backed CliQr also recently started a similar service.

VMware has been quite successful in the virtualization market, generating US$3.77 billion in revenue in 2011. By its own calculations, it has more than 350,000 customers and 50,000 partners. Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, DynamicOps originated as a spinoff from the IT unit of the Credit Suisse financial institution.

VMware expects to complete the purchase by September, subject to successfully passing the usual hurdles that come with acquiring a company.

For all the emphasis on tools and gizmos, IT is still very much about the people who develop and use said tools and gizmos. Collaboration, mutual respect, passion for the work -- all this and more are essential to a beneficial outcome, whether your IT group is shipping code, swatting bugs, working with business users, or securing company systems.